Alaska's Riddle
by The Little Anonymous Author
Summary: Determined to change their perilous present time, Dumbledore decides to send a girl from another country over fifty years into the past. In a school she's only ever read of, Alaska must make friends with a boy she knows next to nothing about. Every move she makes, every word she says, will affect the future she has to save. Failing is not an option.
1. Preface

'_Let's go back_

_Back to the beginning _

_Back to when the earth, the sun, the stars_

_All aligned…_

_Because perfect, didn't seem so perfect'._

_-Come Clean, Hilary Duff_

Preface

"Why send me?" she asked the headmaster, her voice tight and filled with raw emotion.

"It is best to send an otherwise anonymous student," he explained yet again, "a student who holds little prejudice. Therefore, upon going back in time, you will not let any judgment or outward persuasions prevent you from fulfilling this task."

"How do you know I haven't already chosen a side?" she had to ask, not at all sounding rude or rash.

"I'd care to believe that a witch coming from another country would not know enough about this war to choose," he supplied with honesty.

"Yes," she nodded, agreeing with that logic, "but from what you've told me, Tom Riddle hardly seems like a man worthy of a second chance."

Albus sighed, "The one in this life, perhaps," he told the sixteen year old, "the past, however, shall be up for you to decide."

"Speaking of the past," she needed more information on the matter, "the sorting and coursework shouldn't be much different from that of America's, right?"

"Not at all," he reassured her.

"If I choose to go back, there is no returning, the red haired teen peered at the headmaster grimly, "is there?"

He did not lie, "I am afraid not, Miss Hedley."

Being an orphan in the states, the fact didn't bother her as much as it should have.

"So," she took a deep breath, still feeling nervous about this off the wall plan, "how did you decide on me? I mean, there are hundreds of other students in Salem."

"You scored the highest in your testing for the age I hoped to acquire," he enlightened her. "Given your history, I also found it safe to assume that you would not miss this era too terribly," Albus still refrained from keeping in any secrets as he remained bluntly honest.

She wasn't offended by the facts. "So, why change my name?" she desired to know.

"Merely as a safety precaution," he assured her, "we do not know whether or not your predecessors attended our school prior to or after the year of 1943."

"Can I choose my own name at least?" she asked, knowing she would automatically be placed in a Hogwarts house known as Slytherin in order to be closer with Tom. Having formerly been in a house whose qualities centralized around selflessness, she was hardly aware as to how she would pull this off.

"Of course," Albus smiled kindly, feeling as if it were the least he could offer.

Not having to ponder for even a second, she opted to go with the name of a place she'd always wanted to visit. "Alaska," she brightly told him, "Alaska Clark," the surname was based off of an author she favored.

"Right then, Miss Clark," his blue eyes twinkled for all but a moment given their rather serious situation, "are you prepared?" he checked, the ancient enchantment already explained and ready to be placed.

Closing her hazel eyes and giving herself a minute to mentally be set, she hesitantly nodded.

"Now," Albus spoke carefully, "I have here, a parchment of which you should pass on to my earlier self," he handed the ivory skinned girl a folded note, watching as she took it with shaky hands. "I advise you to seek my company immediately upon your arrival," he ordered more so than suggested. "I should be of some help to you once you do so," he tried providing her with this small comfort.

"Okay," she breathed out, "and I'll have Hogwarts: A History, to read on the train ride in, right?" the newly named student made sure, wanting to know as much as possible before entering the castle at an earlier date.

"A less updated version, yes," the headmaster confirmed. "For now, I am afraid you really must be going," he checked the time, realizing that the fifty years younger Express would be leaving in less than half an hour.

Nodding in a silent agreement, Dumbledore formed the first link in a long and drastic chain of the events about to unfold.

* * *

**Next: The train-ride in.**

**Until then…**

**(R&R, please!)**


	2. Chapter 1

'_I'm running away,_

_I'm leaving this place_

_Faster than you can follow me_

_To this lonely place,_

_And farther than you can find me,_

_Yeah, I'm leaving today,'_

_-Running Away, Midnight Hour_

Chapter One: Headed for Hogwarts

Embarking upon the Hogwarts Express had more than taken Alaska's breath away. Having never experienced a train ride prior to this day set in the forties, she knew little of what to expect. Ten minutes since climbing aboard with the luggage Albus had supplied, the train jostled into motion, taking her towards this new life she'd never dreamt of having the chance to choose.

Sighing at the craziness of it all, Alaska decided to calm her frantic thoughts by reading Hogwarts: A History. Being alone in her compartment, no one would distract her from learning all that she could about this school she'd only ever heard about in a country she'd only visited once before.

Reading the table of contents before anything else, Alaska opted to skip ahead slightly in order to learn more about the housing situations in Scotland. In Salem, there were five houses: Sapient, Tendo, Benevolentia, Animus, and Probitas. All of which roughly translated from Latin, into an English version of what they stood for. Sapient remained the house for those prone towards a more academic nature, Benevolentia was exclusive to the kinder students of the Salem academy, Animus housed the braver wizards and witches, Probitas kept the honest at heart ones, while Tendo (her previous house) welcomed those with pure selflessness. Colors weren't used to represent any of them, rather the first letter of each. For example, if you were a member of Sapient, a golden 'S' would be sewn into your black uniform. Animals were another thing that differed between the two schools, she soon learned upon reading. They also were not used to symbolize anything in Salem whereas they always had at Hogwarts.

_Slytherin will help you on your way to greatness. It is the house that values ambition, cunning, leadership, and resourcefulness. House colors include green and silver whilst its mascot remains that of a serpent. Dormitories are located within the Hogwarts dungeons. Entry requires a password given by a member of the staff and/or an assigned student(s). _

Alaska shook her head at the words etched into the book her hands currently caressed. Ambition was a selfish trait and cunning swayed the furthest from honesty. Despite not being placed in Probitas, the fair-skinned girl was hardly one for lying. She only ever did so to help a person in need of such assistance.

Leadership and resourcefulness, however, she could possibly work with as each may be used in acts of giving back to others. Unfortunately, it was still a long shot.

Feeling more than stressed simply by that bit of knowledge, Alaska closed the text for now, aware that she had more than enough time to go back to it later. For now, she wanted to reflect on the words Headmaster Dumbledore had left her with.

From what he had told her, Tom Riddle had all but started a war in this country homing people with accents that she found endearing. His age in her current time frame was sixteen, like herself, and he had been placed in Slytherin house at eleven years of age; another oddity of Hogwarts. Salem didn't accept students until they'd aged to thirteen. Anything less seemed too young in their eyes.

She supposed the reason Albus had decided to send an American student was mostly because he didn't wish to send someone with a biased thought process, but couldn't stop thinking that there had to be more to it than that. Perhaps it was because he knew they wouldn't have suffered any personal losses through this man? It made sense, Alaska soon decided. If she'd lost a loved one through a war he'd started, she would have probably killed him on the spot.

Dumbledore, for an unknown reason, didn't want for that, or anything of the like, to occur. It confused her, to say the least, being that Tom had likely caused him quite a bit of grief. You'd think he would want the wizard dead as much as the next witch or wizard, but no…

Maybe he was simply a man keen on second chances. Alaska could only speculate for now.

Peering out of the compartment window, she was harshly snapped from her train of thought when the door leading into it slid open.

"Anything from the trolley, dear?" a young woman asked kindly.

Trolley, she quickly surmised, had to be the British term for cart as that was what this lady was pushing down the train's narrow hall. After coming to that obvious conclusion, she merely shook her head, smiling politely. Alaska didn't think it wise to confuse people with her American accent just yet. Albus had specifically instructed her to speak with him before any other person lest she desired to conjure up her own background story explaining why she was transferring schools at such a late age. And, since lying wasn't exactly a forte of hers, Alaska thought it best to take the elderly man's advice. Why he didn't set up a meeting with her sooner, left her more than confused, for if he had, they could've planned this whole venture much more thoroughly.

Again, she could only assume things when it came to said Headmaster. He must've had logical reasons for all that he did; being that he seemed wise enough. Based off of the things she'd read about him back in Salem, she knew he was a powerful wizard, at the very least, who had accomplished more than most in his life. Yet, she still didn't understand why he hadn't taken the time to explain more…

Alaska briskly shook her head, trying to vanquish her selfish thoughts. He told her all that she needed to know in the moments they had spent together. Desiring to know more was self-serving.

In an effort to further distract herself, she opted to resume reading.

_The Transfiguration classroom can be found on the first floor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Here, students will learn…_

Not bothering to read more on that, as Alaska hardly thought the material would be much different from that of Transfiguration in Salem, she carried on, only needing to know where the other classes were located in this seven-plus story castle.

_The Potions classroom is located within the dungeons of Hogwarts, along with the Slytherin dormitories, and…_

That reminded her of what she'd already read; that her new rooms were going to be in the dungeons. Alaska shivered at the thought. She hated the dark and loathed being cold. Also, most of the ghosts in her old academy could be found lurking in such areas and she far from enjoyed their company.

That being said, she could not have been more horrified upon learning about Professor Binns: the ghost instructed to teach History of Magic.

No, Alaska wasn't afraid of ghosts per say…she only found them to be of uncomfortable company. It was just that, in her opinion, anything or anyone dead should stay that way: dead.

_Students are not permitted access to the school throughout the summer holidays. _

She'd skimmed this line next as she no longer wished to read anymore on Binns. If Alaska would've been a year younger, this fact would have made her more than uneasy. Fortunately for her, the legal age for magical persons remained seventeen in both countries, so once the year was over she wouldn't have to retreat to an orphanage or foster home. '_Thank god,' _she inwardly praised. Alaska wanted nothing more than to begin her new life, away from those who already knew too much about her. Here, others would only know what she chose to tell them. Her name change only further added to this fresh start of sorts, which she loved.

The fresh start theory made her think…perhaps she could shed her old habits of selflessness entirely or at least to an extent. Alaska had hated being restricted to a certain way of being and loved that the houses of Hogwarts focused on more than one trait.

Smiling to herself, she realized that this would be the perfect opportunity to be what she had always been discouraged to: imaginative.

Back in Salem, imagination had been more than frowned upon as it led to open-minded thoughts; and open-minded thoughts inevitably led to personal spell and/or potion creations, along with the ability to shift oneself into an animal. In order to prevent such chaos, the majority of the American Wizarding Government decided to form a school that would not only practice safely structured magic, but would focus on training future witches and wizards to be simple minded. This way, everyone could live harmoniously. This way, another war would not break out, for the last one had nearly destroyed America itself.

Alaska didn't know what to think of that, truly. On one hand, it had kept war at bay. On the other, it prevented those in the wizarding community from living up to their full potential. Then again, she thought, if Hogwarts had lived by Salem's rules, their country would not be in such turmoil. Then again, again, she would not have this amazing opportunity to go back in time and basically save their world and start hers over.

Alaska was officially stuck at a crossroad. If she turned left, all of her old habits and ways of thinking would stick with her. She would be comfortable and live in familiarity. If she turned right, she would lose her current sense of being and would evolve into the version of herself she had always been meant to be. She would be living in a life full of unexpected events, feelings, and thoughts.

She wasn't stuck for long.

'_Right it is,'_ Alaska mentally chose just as a voice sounded into her cabin, telling her that it was time to change into her Hogwarts uniform.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Some content has been based off of Veronica Roth's Divergent series.

**Reviewer Responses:**

_ThePhoenixOrTheFlame1269: _Thank you for being the first to review! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far.

_MaidMarian17: _Well, hopefully I can make it so that it does end up being one of your favorites. Thank you so much for reviewing!

_sheerio4ever: _Thank you! The name actually derives from John Green's Looking for Alaska. It's a great book.

_Shiroru-tan: _Thanks for it! (by it, I mean your review)

**I'll be posting two chapters per weekend; if that's okay with all of you?**

**Also, I'm curious about your username choices. Where did they come from and why did you choose them?**

**(R&R, please!)**

**Next: Alaska reunites with a younger Dumbledore and meets Riddle**

**Until then...**


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